Hull City 1-4 Arsenal: Match Report

On Saturday the 17th of September the Premier League was treated to many exciting matches with an abundance of goals and bookings spread out between the games. A highlight of the 5th round of fixtures in the Premier League was the match at the KCOM Stadium between Hull City and Arsenal. Both clubs had obtained 7 points from their opening 4 games. The fixture has provided many exciting games over the past few years including the 2014 FA Cup final which finished 3-2 in Arsenal’s favour.

It was an emotional atmosphere at the KCOM Stadium, the game was introduced after a minutes applause for the late former Hull City player Daniel Wilkinson who tragically passed away while playing for Shaw Lane AFC at the age of 24. To add to the emotion, chants were sung at the 12th minute to show support for a 12-year-old Hull City fan who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

The match itself was played at an eccentric rated with Arsenal dominating the majority of the play unsurprisingly. Therefore it was no surprise when Alexis Sanchez deflected a shot from Alex Iwobi into the net to fire the Gunners into the lead on the 17th minute. The match was then dictated by the North London side who played fantastic football and it was no surprise that the Hull City defence was being heavily put to the test. Arsenal were awarded a penalty in the 40th minute for a handball from makeshift defender Jake Livermore, the former Spurs man was sent off in the result of the foul, however, the decision was controversial. Thankfully for Hull City fans justice was done from the penalty as Edlin Jakupovic was able to get down low to stop Alexis Sanchez doubling his goal tally in the match just before halftime. Considering Hull City struggled to keep a rampant Arsenal side at bay it was no surprise that Hull City then struggled even more with only 10. 10 minutes after the restart Arsenal doubled their advantage thanks to Theo Walcott. The Englishman played an exquisite one-two with Alex Iwobi and then Walcott fired the ball into the back of the net, after this, it looked extremely unlikely for Hull to manage to get a result. Arsenal were in completed cruise control from then on and the ten men of Hull City were defending for their lives. However, Hull City were given a lifeline to get back into the game in the 79th minute. After the two Hull City substitutes Dieumerci Mbokani and Ryan Mason linked up well, Mbokani was brought down in the box by Arsenal ‘keeper Petr Cech. The referee hesitated but eventually awarded the penalty which Robert Snodgrass swept into the back of the net with ease. However, Hull City’s comeback was short-lived as Arsenal then restored their two-goal lead via Alexis Sanchez just 3 minutes after Hull City got back into the game . As far as the quality of goals are concerned, Arsenal certainly saved the best till last. Substitute Granit Xhaka came off the bench and fired the ball into Jakupovic’s top right-hand corner from 30 yards out. This was Xhaka’s first goal as an Arsenal player after his moved in the summer from Borussia Monchengladbach. At the end of the day, Hull City were beaten by the far superior team.

Despite the abundance of fantastic performances in the red of Arsenal, their were some fantastic performances from players in Amber and Black. Before I reveal my man of the match for Hull City I feel three players require honourable mentions. In my opinion, both Curtis Davies and Robert Snodgrass were crucial on both ends of the pitch, the two players have stood out in all of Hull City’s games this season. New signing Ryan Mason made a fantastic home debut off the been for Hull City, his ball through to Mbokani for the penalty incident was a particular highlight that I was impressed with. However, without a second thought for other players my undisputed Hull City man of the match is Sam Clucas. Ever since Clucas signed for Hull from Chesterfield last season, the Englishman’s performance have been underrated by the media and even fellow Hull City fans. Sam played the role of a midfielder who sat deep and played balls away from the defence and towards the attack, he dispossessed Arsenal’s build up play extremely well.

As aforementioned, Arsenal played incredibly well and showed glimpses of a world class side if they can be consistent. Singling only one player out was incredibly difficult to do considering the performances of Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin just to name a few. However, I eventually came to the conclusion that Alexis Sanchez played remarkably and was head and shoulders above every other player on the pitch. On another day, the former Barcelona man would’ve scored a hat-trick but he was denied by a Jakupovic save from the penalty. However, a brace and key play in the build up to the majority of Arsenal’s chances make him my man of the match for the Gunners.

Overall the game was enjoyable for those who do not favour Hull City and the traveling Arsenal fans will be delighted with 3 points after they provided a fantastic atmosphere. Arsenal will be looking to take this form forward after a credible draw in the Champions League away to Paris Saint-Germain. Hull City will be hoping that a heavy home defeat does not impact the club’s fantastic start to the season. Hull will have a chance to get back to from in the League Cup through the week as they play an out of from Stoke City.